gobig

I would get him a Roman Made Mother. Nothing says I love you like a $400 swimbait.

You can also use a miller weight to get through heavy mats.

I have never had a bad one. I have one that is dam near a square bill because its so worn.

Hands down the deep little'N

I have bounced back and forth between various hiking style shoes and boots over the last 5 or 6 years. I have had some back issues and good support in a shoe is a huge factor in not having a sore back and hiking style foot wear offer the best support I have found. Over the last two years Merrell and Oboz have become my favorites.

This sounds like an intro for strange wilderness.

I am not sure you have anything there thats going to revolutionize bass fishing but I don't think its dumb to experiment.

That rod should work ok.

I generally agree with Tom but I can't see fishing that bait on a standard crankbait rod. Maybe a rod built to throw a 10xd. Like a Dobyns 806cb or something along those lines. I feel a standard crank rod would be over powered by the bait. I am not saying that a rod has to be labeled as a swimbait rod to be a good swimbait rod, but certain things need to happen. Like it needs to load properly to get a good cast out of it. When you set the hook there needs to be enough power to drive larger hooks and get the fish moving at you, it needs the right parabolic bend etc... If the rod accomplishes the right things and it says a-rig on the side who cares. But swimbaits are a power game, you don't want to try and play a fish. The heavier the bait the more likely it will be thrown by the fish. One mistake that I think happens all to often is that we gear ourselves towards smaller fish and it costs us. You might be able to go out and throw that bait on a crank rod and even catch a few 2-3lbers but whats gonna happen when its the fish of a lifetime? You will probably have a good story for the "one that got away" thread.

Cliff bars, trail mix, jerky and fruit.

I think the most I have spent was $160 on a deps 250 when they first came out. I try hard to spend as little as I have to but in turn I don't try to flip baits and make a bunch of money. I lost around 20 fish when I first got it before I got everything dialed in and I have caught at least that many since.

You should invest in a bait knocker, the one with chains that hang off it. Its worth its weight in gold. You have to think of swimbaits as tools that are used for specific jobs. Some come through trees really well, some come through grass well etc...You have to select the right bait for the right job. And yes there is a good probability that you will get hung up from time to time even using the best possible bait for the situation. The reality is that you will probably even lose a few. However the right gear will greatly diminish the chances of losing a bait.

"1913 wasn't a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, the 16th amendment and the IRS." - Ron Paul "When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads." - Ron Paul "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." - Ayn Rand "To the victors belong the spoils." - Andrew Jackson "One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson

I like my Cabelas guide select bibs better than the bass pro ones but I like the 100mph jacket best. Simms makes good stuff but the price point is rediculous. They have been that way for as long as I can remember. I used to fly fish a lot and simms was popular back then and still charging double.

I am going to say largemouth though it is hard to tell. The reason I think its a largie is because of the body shape. That fish is fairly well proportioned. Spots tend to have longer skinny tails with the gut farther forward.

I can't agree with this wait until you feel the fish concept. IMO this is a recipe for missing large fish. If i can't see my frog I swing. The amount of time it takes to register that your frog is gone, is more than enough wait time. Big fish will spit that frog as soon as it does not feel real. This is a decent video on froggin by Ish. Pay close attention to the hook set at 11:30.

First off from what I can tell it was not Toms reasoning, it was the great state of California. Which in many cases the word reasoning and California don't belong in the same sentence. One of the things you have to consider about Califorina is that our lakes are deeper than most. So when you have a 75-80deg surface temp that can be a huge shock for a fish caught out of 40ft of water. Not to mention the proper care of fizzing a fish caught that deep. Live well temps and proper operation of the wells are a big issue. I fished the Open and saw the dead fish. Most of what I saw were not giant bass they were average, between 2-4lbs. I do not think what happend was negligence on the part of WON Bass. From what I could tell they made all of the necessary precautions. I think there were several things that were not in the norm. There were a lot of fish still on beds, they were aggressively spraying weeds, there was a massive algae bloom, a front with a huge temp change passed through and there were higher than normal water temps. I think the fish were just over stressed with all that went on. It was just kind of a perfect storm so to speak. I think if the tournament was held one week prior or one week later you would have seen a different result. Not to mention 75 fish wouldn't even come close to putting a dent in the population.

I hope I never get stuck in the car with half of you. I have been stuck on Rebelution lately.

The reality is they will eat 8in plus lure in every state. Bass eat pretty much anything that swims and fits in there mouth, even there own kind. I get it If you want to start with smaller baits, there are a bunch to choose from but they are not going to be $7.99. They start in the $15 range and go up. Here is a list of some good baits that should get you going in the right direction. BBZ1 6in BBZ1 4in BBZ1 baby shad Triple trout MS Slammer A/C plug Bull shad Black Dog shell cracker and shell cracker G2 Mattlures hardgill and soft Rago Glide gill Gancraft 148 S-waiver Savage gear glide Savage gear linethru Hudd 68 Hudd weedless shad Trashfish Osprey Rago BVD There are also rat baits

Any swimbait that says may require tuning I would stay away from.

Never fished both but what I can tell you is the right time of year at Clearlake 30lbs won't cut a check.

I fish the CA Delta and maybe I am doing it wrong but I am looking for current breaks. In the winter I want less current, in the summer more current. Rocks, trees, weeds, islands, bars, tules, sunken objects, bridge pilings, bends and swings in the river all create breaks. The fish position accordingly based on the time of year and the tide. Timing is critical.

I want 23 blow ups.

There is no way to effectively punch mats with spinning gear. You would miss so many bites its rediculous. I use Bubs punchrod made by IROD, a 7:1 reel and 65lb braid. Tungsten weights that vary from 3/4oz up to 2oz. and a snelled straight shank hook. This is close quarter combat fishing. You are targeting the nastiest stuff in the lake. Don't set yourself up for heartbreak.

Bluebasser is right. You want to reel and sweep at the same time. Your reel moves a lot of line with one turn of the handle. Depends on the reel but somewhere in the neighborhood of 27" per turn or more. If you swing and your rod moves 3' with one turn of the handle your moving closer to 6' of line. Much better hook penetration. I use braid with a leader when I fish a jig deep, less stretch. You also can't give them any slack that 1oz head has a lot of leverage.